Modern Homemakers

Yuki Higson: Tailored For Pandemoms

by Bianca Salonga
March 26, 2022

A spirit for teamwork—both at home at the work front—was the common thread that allowed Yuki Higson to stitch together life as a “pandemom” and fashion retailer

Style Cat and Sewing Room founder, host, and mom Yuki Higson calls herself a “pandemom.” It was the height of the outbreak when she reached the final weeks of pregnancy. As the world stood still and hid in their homes, Yuki brought her son into the world. It was a less-than-ideal-situation, says the first-time mom. “My husband and I were extra cautious throughout the entire pregnancy. We were on a strict home lockdown even after giving birth last May.”

Tailoring something new

Time spent at home proved a blessing. While most working moms typically struggle with managing time between career and parenthood, Yuki was afforded the time to forge close bonds with her newborn, Luca. Working remotely with her teams at Style Cat and Sewing Room also opened up more hours in her day for self-care and discovering culinary joys in the kitchen. She adds, “I’m (also) grateful to have a supporting husband. We align our schedules and work as a team.”

Lessons in fashion and resilience

Leading fashion retail businesses amidst crisis also entailed creativity, innovation and a mindset of resilience. Much like family life, creating partnerships and teamwork was crucial in the survival and success of her brands. Yuki shares, “For Style Cat, we are thankful for stockists outside the Philippines. At Sewing Room, we partnered with online stores. These helped to ensure that orders would keep coming in to keep the business going.”

As the founder for two proudly Philippine-made fashion brands, style has and continues to be a large part of Yuki’s life. Even as she transitioned into pandemic parenthood, her long-time affinity for effortless silhouettes proved ever more relevant. “I am definitely someone who will always be in something comfortable. I always loved flowy dresses or baggy silhouettes so being a mom just gave me another reason to buy more of those styles. Most of my favorites are usually shapeless but I love it because it’s so comfy.”

Weaving gratitude into her work

Through all the looks that Yuki serves up through her retail brands and on her IG posts, gratitude is the one accessory that truly stands out the most. She ends, “One thing I learned is to just deal with the cards we’re dealt with and focus on the brighter side of things. Even when business is slow, it brings me joy that Style Cat and The Sewing Room provide livelihood to our artisans and seamstresses. I have a happy and healthy family – that is the most important thing for me right now.”